The key facts

  • Peru's Ministry of Culture abolished advance ticket booking for Machu Picchu
  • 15 minutes are given to complete the purchase on the Tu Boleto website; tickets are strictly personal
  • Limits: 5,600 visitors in high season, 4,500 in low season, the Inca Trail — 750 per day

Abolition of advance booking

Peru's Ministry of Culture has abolished the advance ticket booking system for Machu Picchu — a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Travelers are now given 15 minutes to complete the purchase on the official ticket sales website Tu Boleto; if they fail to do so, the booking is cancelled and the tickets return to general sale.

Personal tickets and the purpose of the change

Under the new system, only personal tickets are sold: identity document details must match the details on the ticket, otherwise the visitor will not be allowed into the citadel. The Ministry of Culture explained the change as follows: 'the availability displayed on the platform must correspond to the tickets that the general public can actually purchase.' The system has been introduced on a test basis, and based on the results of the trial, the 15-minute limit may be either extended or shortened.

Visitor limits remain unchanged

Restrictions on the number of visitors have not changed: in the high season, no more than 5,600 people per day are allowed into the citadel, in the low season — 4,500. The Inca Trail network is limited to 750 visitors per day. In addition, 1,000 tickets are available daily at the DDC-Cusco ticket office in Machupicchu Pueblo, which can be used the day after purchase.

How to get there

European tourists wishing to visit the 15th-century Inca complex need to fly to Lima and then take a domestic flight to Cusco. From there, Aguas Calientes (the town of Machu Picchu) can be reached by train or bus, and then one can ascend to the citadel on foot or by bus. Direct flights to Lima operate from Madrid, Barcelona, Paris and Amsterdam.